Mind Over Magic
by Hexian Press
Summary: And you thought Potter got all the fun.  Meet the Smiths, a family with their fair share of trouble concerning the Dark Lord, dragons, vampires, reformed Death Eaters, werewolves, Muggles and vicious headaches.  Enjoy a tale of romance and adventure.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: None of the canon HP characters belong to me, no copyright infringement intended. This disclaimer extends throughout the entire story.

The night was eerily still as a nineteen year old girl stood outside her house, hands shoved deep into her pockets and eyes staring up at the stars. Behind her stood a large cottage which clashed with the other homes on the street. They were sedate while the cottage struck a more eccentric tone. Then again, the family that lived inside it was nothing less than eccentric.

Annaleara Smith wasn't really thinking about her house, her family or the stars she was staring at so intently. She was remembering everything she used to be. Three years ago she'd been an inch shorter, her hair a slightly paler red than it was now and her silver-gray eyes hadn't looked nearly as haunted when she glanced in a mirror. Everything changed but she could admit to herself that she hadn't wanted to change this much. There was a silence, a cold spot in her head that nothing could warm.

Three years ago, she remembered, Annaleara had been in her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Triwizard Tournament had taken place and their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had been Professor Alastor Moody. Except he hadn't been Moody at all.

Annaleara closed her eyes and allowed herself to remember a man with brown eyes in a narrow face, his brown hair ruffled beyond all sense of order. A mad Death Eater… A man she could not forget…

She could remember.


	2. Back to the Beginning

_A/N: This story starts with a flashback to the fourth book Goblet of Fire, but then it goes into the summer before the seventh book. _

Back to the Beginning

Annaleara sat beside the lake, her book bag near at hand should she wish for something to read. Today, however, she was feeling less than interested in burying her face in a book. Instead her thoughts were becoming tangled ropes in her head and making very little sense. That, of course, meant that she was curious about something and trying to puzzle out the answer. The problem at hand was why Harry Potter's name had been spit out of the Triwizard Cup. The Boy-Who-Lived never struck her as the type who wanted more attention. He often went out of his way to avoid it. So why would he do something like this deliberately? The logical answer was that he didn't. However that brought up another question. If Harry Potter hadn't put his name into the cup, then who had?

She stared at the water with silver-gray eyes, as if hoping the lake would offer some sort of answer.

It took hours of staring and creating theories before she finally came up with an actually useful idea. A grin curved her lips upward as she gathered her books. "The best person to ask," she murmured to herself while sprinting off across the lawn towards the castle, "would be someone who's made a living by studying things like this." She through the hallways in search of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

A murky, partially dusty room brimming with whirring gadgets and strange contraptions was waiting for her. And inside would be Alastor Moody, newest professor at Hogwarts. Annaleara probably wouldn't have knocked if she'd known how this one event would snowball into a disaster involving not only her future but the future safety of her family.

She didn't know. She knocked on his door.

"Enter," Moody answered gruffly, tossing a trinket he was fiddling with aside and looked up with his magical eye.

Annaleara opened the door, shifting her book bag farther onto her shoulder. "Hello, Professor Moody. I'm so sorry to bother - " She tripped over a cobblestone and tumbled to the floor. Her books liked to take every opportunity to escape the confines of her bag so they flew in all directions. Annaleara sighed. "Well, at least I got my clumsy moment of the day over with."

It would have seemed to the casual observer that young ladies tripped and lay sprawled across the floor every day from the way Moody reacted. He rose from his seat, flicking his wand and ordering her books into a neat stack in front of her. He sat back down. "What can I help you with?" he grunted with very little change in expression.

She stood up and brushed off her robes. "I just had a few questions about what it would take to fool the Triwizard Cup. I've been doing some thinking and I'll probably search the library for information but I thought I should ask for your opinion first." A clump of pale red hair fell out of her bun and she blew it out of her eyes with an exasperated breath.

"Why would you be worryin' yourself over that?" Moody asked, his magical eye swiveling about and staring right at her.

She smiled wryly. "When I don't know something I work hard until I do. It's what I've always done."

"Hmph," Moody grunted, his eye swiveled around, twitched and stared at her again. It was trying to see something normal eyes couldn't see. _This clumsy brat had better not spoil my plans, _he thought to himself. "What are your theories then?" He leaned back in his chair, continuing to observe her.

"So far all I know for certain is that none of the students did it. None of them are clever enough and no one underage could get across Dumbledore's line." She was getting a prickly feeling along her spine. As though she'd attracted the attention of a being she wanted nothing to do with.

"Hmph," Moody grunted again. "You're very smart but not very hardworking," he added. "Anyone could have come to those conclusions." If she was stupid then he wouldn't have to worry about her poking her nose in where it didn't belong.

"Well, most of my other theories are speculation without any proof to prove them right or wrong. Just feelings." Annaleara sat down in a nearby chair, pulling out a quill and parchment paper before offering Professor Moody a smile. "But I was really wondering what your thoughts were. You probably know a bit more about the Dark Arts than I do and that's what I'm betting is at work here."

Moody fought the urge to send the nosy brat away. He asked himself what the real Moody would do in this situation. The ex-aura would probably want to help the girl out.

"Actually it's not," he said. "Just expert skill, a simple confundus charm could have done it. It's hard to perform any dark magic in this school without my knowin' about it," Moody added with a wink.

Annaleara thought it over. "Something as basic as a confundus charm wouldn't have dented the Triwizard Cup's magic. If it could then everyone would be doing it," she murmured. "Unless... Three schools, four champions." Her eyes narrowed in concentration. "It wouldn't spit out two champions for one school. The Cup had to be made to think there were four schools. A basic magic could have worked if applied correctly. But whoever did it would have to be very, very clever."

She smiled faintly and scribbled down this newest revelation.

"Now you're working," Moody encouraged, despite the roaring hiss of his insides. His magical eye swiveled around and looked back as if into his head, but quickly spun around and looked at Annaleara and then over to the large trunk in the corner of his office.

"Exceptionally powerful," she murmured, oblivious to the spinning of his eye. "But why? Why put Harry into the tournament? No one performs that sort of magic on a lark." Annaleara looked up at Moody. "This is Harry Potter we're talking about. Tragedy tends to follow him like the plague."

Moody took a swig from his flask. "That's the question, isn't it?" Moody said gruffly. "You answer that and you could have my job."

Annaleara chuckled softly. "Probably wouldn't be my cup of tea. I'm more of a researcher than a teacher." She smiled at him. "Besides, you're the student body's favorite teacher. Except Slytherin."

Moody grunted a soft chuckle. His insides let out another roaring hiss and his magical eye swiveled madly. This girl was going to be trouble.


End file.
